On the Edge
by ohsnapples
Summary: Ex-SOLDIER, Cloud Strife is forced into saving Rufus' bride to be, but an acident causes him to be alone with her to travel across the world. What happens when new feelings surface? And what will happen when they return to Midgar? AU


_Well, Its time for a new story. I am on a short hiatus for __**This Changes Everything**_, _but I think that story will be completed, I just lost my muse for it and I will get back to it as soon as I can. I have had many inspirations for this story, the main one being Shrek. Also, I want to clear up some things for this story:_

_It's and AU. It takes place in the middle ages, meaning most of the girls wear dresses, and the only thing remotely modern will be the language (like no air ships and cars, stuff like that). This isn't just Final Fantasy VII, it is also VIII, ,X and XIII, and so there will be characters from those games too. But to those of you who have not played those, don't worry you won't get confused! And I will try to include all the characters that were in the game (like the people who were crucial to the game). And I plan for this to be kind of long, so strap in you seat belts, things are just getting started!_

_It also just isn't CloudxTifa, I just needed to put down the couple that it will mostly be based on. So I'll shift to different views a lot._

_Warning: there may be some blunders with the timeline because I'm too lazy to look it up xD_

_Disclaimer: Nothing from Final Fantasy belongs to me, sadly_

* * *

_**On the Edge**_**– Chapter 1**

Everybody who lived in the kingdom of Midgar thought that it was a beautiful morning. The sky was clear of any clouds and the birds were singing happily. When they stepped out of their cabins they were met with warm air and a nice breeze would sweep through their hair and clothing. It was a time of peace and everyone was relishing it. Not many people were hungry, the economy was better than ever, and everyone seemed happy.

In the market people conversed and bought nice fruits and breads for their meals. Laughter could be heard from the local kids that played while their parents were in the market. Scattered all around there were groups of three or four women that seemed to be gossiping about people in their area, and the men were looking at the well crafted weapons.

The nice morning was shattered when a young man ran through the market with guards hot on his tail. He was holding a bundle of goods in his arms and he smiled back at the guards.

"Come on! Just try to catch me!" The blond man challenged as he ran even faster. The guards tried to catch him, their swords raised high in the air, but after a few minutes of pursuit, they started to slow down. The blond male was too fast and didn't even show any signs of fatigue. He turned his head back around and grinned at them before running even faster and disappearing around the corner.

The man, Cloud Strife, just took a few more detours from his original route to throw off any guards that may still be following him. He was a patient man, he knew if he rushed through the job it would end in disaster. So it didn't matter if it took a few minutes longer than it normally did. The end result was always worth it.

After a few turns he arrived at his destination. He walked through the dark alley that he called home. At the very end it, sat his sisters. One of them was lying down on a dirty blanket, her eyes close tightly and her body trying to sweat out the sickness she attracted. His other sister was sitting next to her wiping the sweat off with a dirty towel and a bowl of dirty water that used to be clean next to her.

"About damn time," she snapped at him and swiped the bundle from his arms. "I should've did it today, you go too slow." She dug through the pack and pulled out the food that he stole. A loaf of bread, cheese, and a jar of milk for each of them. "Did you even get it?" she asked irritably.

Cloud crossed his arms over his chest and bent over slightly before he drew his eyebrows together, making his face look like he was thinking. "It's hard for me to remember, my sister. It was so long ago, my poor little mind-"he stopped when she shot him a deadly glare "- I did get it." She sighed in annoyance and continued to dig through the pack. Cloud plopped himself down on a wooden crate with a dirty, but soft, blanket on top so it made a nice chair. Above them was a thick towel that was nailed on either sides of the wall of the alleyway so it made a roof. Next to him, his sister, Lightning, was putting the stolen food in a wooden barrel that they used to store food.

"So, where's Snow? I'd think that he'd be here every minute of the day for Serah," Cloud observed as he brought his hands up to lace his fingers behind his neck in a bored fashion. Lightning scoffed at the name. She hated that man and blamed him for Serah's sickness.

Ever since Serah was born, she easily got sick and picked up rare diseases. One day Snow wanted to take her out to a festival that was in the market square. Serah objected at first, but was convinced by Snow that nothing would happen. Then she got sick. Lightning never liked Snow, and this accident gave her a reason.

"We don't need him. We can take care of Serah by ourselves," Lightning said and finally pulled a little vial out of they stolen pack of goods. She leaned forward to open Serah's mouth and poured a small amount in. Her face grimaced as the foul tasting liquid entered her mouth, but swallowed it quickly before making a '_blech_' noise. A small smile crossed both Cloud and Lightning's face and she gently brushed Serah's bangs away from her eyes.

The three Strifes looked very much the same. Cloud and Lightning looked the most alike, probably because they were twins. Serah looked like them but she was more petite, more delicate. They were described as beyond beautiful. They all had the same spiky blond hair and blue eyes. But the two girls had a more strawberry tint to their blonde hair, while Cloud had golden hair. Cloud and Lightning could care less about their appearance but Serah always liked to look pretty, and would occasionally buy a nice dress.

Lightning didn't like to wear dresses like Serah did. One day when Lightning wore a beige dress to pass off as a girl she hated it so much that she cut off most of the bottom of her dress that she stole and used the top as a shirt while she wore male tights so she could be able to fight better. And she was wearing high leather boots that were easy to fight and run in. So now it looked like she was wearing a too short dress with tights. Not proper woman clothing.

Cloud wore a simple navy tunic and wool pants with black leather worker boots. He never tried to dress to impress, even when he was in company of the king. Cloud wore it because it was easy to fight in. And of course the clothing they wore was stolen.

And their hair seemed to define them. The blonde of Cloud's hair resembled a chocobo, but Lightning and Serah's hair color was different than what most people usually see. Lightning and Serah's hair was more reserved but Cloud's was completely wild, sticking around in many different directions.

Both Cloud and Lightning then heard a noise coming down from the alley. They knew what it was immediately. They could hear heavy footsteps and the heavy clatter from their armor. It was SOLDIER, Midgar's elite army. They sprung up in defensive positions and their hands went to their weapons. Cloud's was a heavy sword that was very intimidating to look at. Lightning's sword was a blade that was customized to her fighting style. Her sword was thicker than others, but not as much as Cloud's and it was curved. They both were very skilled with their weapons, mostly because they were both in SOLDIER.

Cloud became one when he was fifteen, the youngest person that ever became a SOLDIER. He was argued to be one of the best, aside from the great general Sephiroth. He used his heavy blade with mysterious strength, and although it was a little hard to control, he could easily strike an opponent.

Lightning was the first female to become first class SOLDIER and when people saw her with her weapon, they understood why they let a girl in their elite army. She was better than most of the guys there, and people feared for their lives if they had to go against her in battle. Together, they were mostly impossible to beat.

Like all SOLDIERs, they were required to learn a magic spell. Lightning mastered thunder while Cloud mastered fire. After they escaped, they tried to teach blizzard to Serah, but it would take all of her energy to just to make some frost appear, so they stopped. While they were with Shinra, they were forbidden to learn more than one spell, but that was also for all of the SOLDIERs. They were only able to teach Serah blizzard was because they snagged a spell book. Cloud and Lightning were trying to learn different spells, but it was nearly impossible since they were used to the spells they already use.

Cloud scanned the large group that was forming in front of him. He made a guess that there were at least twenty, all cadets for the army and Second Class SOLDIERs. Cloud knew the way that Shinra thought, send out the weakest first then send larger forces. So once they finished these SOLDIERs off, they needed to get away quickly.

"How quickly do you think this will take this time?" Lightning said as she drew her sword and lifted it so it was horizontal at her eye level. The SOLDIERs came into view and Lightning put it down to her side.

"Hmm, I'd say ten minutes tops." Cloud said as he adjusted his position. He stood with his feet the same length as his shoulders were and his sword out in front of him. Lightning stood straight with her sword at her side, her other arm was crossed in front of her.

When the SOLDIERs stopped in front of them, a man stepped up. "Former SOLDIER Cloud and Lightning, you are both arrested for crimes against Midgarian laws. We advise you to throw your weapons down, or we will take you down by force."

"We'd like to see you try," Cloud said and tightened his hands around his sword. Lightning smiled briefly and she backed up a little so she could cover Serah more. That's when the SOLDIERs darted forward.

Cloud and Lightning were able to take care of most of them rather easily, but when they thought they were home free, arrows and magic spells rained from above them. Cloud used his large sword to protect him and Lightning from most of the assault while she took care of the SOLDIERs. They were thankful that they put the blanket up as a roof, for it protected Serah from the assault, but they'd feel better if they were taken care of.

"Lightning! Take care of them, will you!" Cloud yelled as he jerked his head up to their attackers up the wall. Lightning nodded briefly before jumping up the wall expertly so she could take out the assailants. When Lightning was about strike the last one, she got struck by an arrow on her right shoulder. She grunted in pain and stabbed the last archery soldier before losing her footing. Just when she was about to fall down into the alleyway, something grabbed her wrist and halted her from her fall for just a short while. She looked up and saw the last person she would like to see.

"Looks like you could use my help," Snow said with a smile and winked.

"Ok, you can let go now," Lightning said as he lifted her up so he could wrap an arm around her back and his other arm under her knees. He jumped down the alleyway and landed gracefully behind Cloud just as he finished off the last of the SOLDIERs. He turned around and became completely pale when he saw an arrow sticking out of Lightning's shoulder.

"I'm fine," Lightning said before Cloud would start to panic. She pushed herself out of Snow's arms and landed on her feet. She picked up her discarded sword that she dropped when she fell and put it in her sheath that was hanging from the back of her waist. Snow and Cloud just gaped at her in surprise. If somebody couldn't see the arrow, they never would've thought that she was injured. She was putting the rest of their food in the pack and she noticed that the boys still have not moved. "Are you going to stand their and wait for another army of SOLDIERs arrive, or are you going to help me pack?" she asked irritably

"You should let Serah stay with me until you find another alleyway that will last for more than just a few nights," Snow suggested as he walked toward Serah's sleeping form.

"No way, it's you fault she's –"Lightning started to say.

"It's not his fault," a weak voice protested. Lightning immediately calmed down and kneeled down next to her.

"Serah," Lightning started to say "It would be better if you stay with Cloud and I, we can protect you."

"But you are hurt," Serah whispered because she was too weak to speak any louder.

Lightning was about to say more but Cloud placed his hand on her shoulder. She snapped her head in his direction and saw him looking sternly at her. She opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it and stayed silent.

"She's right, we'll go see Vincent and we'll meet up with Snow later," Cloud planned and Lightning stayed silent. She knew that Serah would be fine with Snow, but she wasn't about to admit that. Cloud saw the understanding cross her face and Cloud looked up at Snow and nodded at him. Snow nodded back and smiled briefly before bending down to pick up Serah in his arms. Serah waved at them while Snow was walking away and Cloud waved back. Lightning just stared at the ground with a frown on her face.

Once Snow and Serah were at of sight, Lightning pushed Cloud away in frustration. Cloud sighed and brought his sword over his shoulder to put it in the harness on his back. Lightning started to peel the slaughtered SOLDIER uniforms off their corpses and put it on herself. He watched as Lightning ripped the arrow out of her shoulder and she grunted in pain. Blood was dripping down her beige shirt and fall on the already blood soaked dirt. She pulled the chest plate on painfully before pulling the helmet over her face. Cloud followed suit and pulled on a dead SOLDIERs armor on. Well if they wanted to go out in the streets, they would need some sort of disguise. Cloud slung the pack of their food and other essentials over his shoulder before they walked out of the alleyway.

They remembered the day when they were forced out of Shinra perfectly. It was a day that they all wished they could forget. Lightning was more mentally scarred from it than Cloud was. It came to a total surprise to both of them.

_Cloud was walking through the corridor when he saw his twin rushing towards him. It was a shock to him because she actually seemed flustered. _

"_Lightning? What is it?" Cloud asked as his brows narrowed. He never saw his sister like that. _

_She looked up at him. "I was just informed by Rufus that I was no longer needed in SOLDIER." Her face was red and it looked as if tears were going to fall. But Cloud could tell that it was not from sorrow, but in anger._

_Clouds eyes widened. "What?" she started walking towards her chambers, "is it because you are a woman?" _

_She stopped and shifted an eye towards him. "…Yeah…" then she started to walk away again_

_Cloud could feel himself being filled with loath. It was not fair at all, Lightning shouldn't be judged for that. She is much better than all the other stealth SOLDIER's, so it had to be that she was a woman. But he couldn't understand, they had been in SOLDIER for two years and they didn't have a problem with gender. Why now?_

_When Lightning was about to enter her chambers to pack up her things Cloud ran up to her and grabbed her arm. _

"_I'm going with you." He said quickly._

"_No, you are not," She said sternly, "Who would take care of Serah?"_

"_We would take her with us," he said as if it was obvious. _

"_It's too dangerous for her. Do you forget of her illnesses?"_

"_Of course not, but booting out my sister is not just a slap in face for you, it's an insult to me. And I cannot tolerate protecting a man who would do that to us."_

_Lightning's mood warmed after that and she felt Clouds hand release from her arm. Even though Lightning was being forced out, for Cloud to leave would be a major offense. It's against the law for any First Class SOLDIER to resign from their position. If they wanted to leave the nobles had to find a reason to let them go._

"_Grab your sword quickly, and then get Serah. I need to take care of a few things. Meet me at the south gate, we'll make our grand escape there."_

_Lightning nodded. She assumed that the few things that she had to take care of had to do with their escape. Cloud had more friends than Lightning in SOLDIER so it was more than likely that they were going to help. _

When they left it caused an immediate uproar. King Shinra himself sent a red alert all over Midgar and the surrounding cities. The warning stated that the Strife siblings were merciless and would kill anyone they came into contact with. Because of that little bit of false information a price was put on their heads. It was also said that when they were caught they would be immediately put to death. Even Serah, who did nothing.

A few weeks later they heard from the gossip among the city that Shinra let go of all the SOLDIERs that they suspected to have helped with their escape. Which means basically all of the first and second class was let go. The weekly paper always had a list of the first, second and third class SOLDIERs, so the rumors were found to be true when they recognized no one on the list.

When Lightning and Cloud walked in the healers building, they saw Vincent's assistant, Shalua. She looked up to see SOLDIERs come through the door and walk up to her.

"Hello, are you here to see Dr. Valentine?" Shalua greeted and the taller one nodded. "Well, he has work right now, so you should just sit and relax until he can see you,"

"We need to see him right away," a familiar voice said and lifted off his helmet. She recognized who it was instantly.

"Oh, hi Cloud, is there a problem?" Shalua asked and she looked at the other person in the armor. She guessed that it was Lightning with him again. She was confirmed of that statement when she lifted the helmet off her head.

"They sent SOLDIERs after us again," Cloud said and ran a hand through his patted down spikes. The reason that he didn't like wearing helmets was that they made his hair flat. Most people said that his hair being flat was a good thing, but he didn't see it that way. He saw his spiky hair as being a Strife.

"Vincent will look at you right away," Shalua said and led them into another room. She always let them see Vincent see them right away, even if they weren't injured.

Cloud and Lightning knew Vincent for a long time, back when they were still in SOLDIER. Vincent worked as a doctor for the king but he got fired because they found someone better. The man's name was Professor Hojo. And he was overrated in the castle. Vincent looked wicked, but that was just his appearance, at an intimidating six feet with long black hair and red eyes a normal person would peg him as a bad guy. But Cloud and Lightning would say he was one of the kindest men. Unfortunately he was unable to cast any healing spells because only priests and priestess could learn white magic.

Vincent was sitting at a table, looking at some papers when they walked in. He flashed a small smile at Cloud and Lightning before standing up to greet them.

"It's been a while," he said with his hoarse voice and Cloud smiled back.

"Yes it has." Cloud agreed.

"Let me guess, SOLDIERs again?" Vincent looked over both of them. He noticed that Lightning was pale and sweating more than she usually was.

"Those bastards sent archers this time, Lightning got hit with one." Cloud explained.

"Let me see," Vincent said and Lightning pulled the chest plate off. He pushed her shirt out of the way to get a cleat view of the wound. It was still bleeding and he touched it gently. "I can't do much besides put some salve on it to disinfect it and a bandage. But you'll need to change the bandage everyday until it heals enough." Vincent walked away and grabbed a jar of light blue cream and gently applied it to her wound. She bit her bottom lip so she wouldn't make a noise. Then he wrapped the bandage around her shoulder. "That should do it,"

"Thanks Vincent," Cloud and Lightning said and she pulled the chest plate back on.

"Come back if the wound gets infected," Vincent said and sat back down. Cloud and Lightning took that as their cue to leave.

"What now?" Lightning asked as they out the helmets over their heads.

"We find a new home," Cloud said shortly and Lightning sighed. It was going to be a long day.

"How long has it been?" Prince Rufus Shinra asked the man standing in dark armor.

"About three hours, my Lord." The man with black spiky hair answered. The prince smacked his hand on the side of the chair before leaning forward and running his hands irritably through his blond hair. But the man didn't flinch. He was one of the few that wasn't afraid of the Prince.

"Do you have any idea where they are headed?" Rufus asked the First Class SOLDIER. Zack nodded.

"They left a ransom note. They are heading to Wutai." Zack answered.

"What did they want?"

"The king's head on a silver platter," Zack held out the note. Rufus took it and skimmed it briefly. Wrinkles were being made in the note from the prince clenching it tightly. The bone in his jaw was shifting in anger from the ridiculousness of the note. It went on about how Midgar was going to fall in a matter of time and they would kill everyone that was associated with Shinra if they didn't give them the king's head.

"That is ridiculous, why would they think that we would kill my father just for the girl's safety?" Rufus asked and handed the note back.

"Because they know that she has many friends in many places. They know that many people would be affected if she is to be killed."

Rufus groaned again. They've been trying to capture the princess for a few months since they learned of her engagement to the prince. It was true that if she dies, then they will be even more disliked then they already are. They could blame Wutai all they wanted, but they would blame Shinra for letting her get killed.

And they needed her to be alive. To smooth over some of the hatred for Shinra, Rufus needed to marry someone that was loved by everyone. He decided that the princess of Nibelheim was the perfect choice. She was kind; she was fair to everyone, even the slaves, and was very beautiful. She was the ideal princess. Everybody wanted to be her and be with her, Rufus couldn't count how many men he heard saying that they would enjoy having her in their bedrooms. He needed her back, no matter what.

"We need to arrange a rescue party," Rufus concluded and Zack nodded.

"I do believe sir, that if we only send a few First Class SOLDIERS, then they will not notice us like they would with it you send the whole army," Zack said.

"Yes, we will only send a few at first, then, if needed, we will send more,"

"Very good, my Lord, shall I arrange the men?"

"No, we need somebody better than an average SOLDIER." Rufus thought of any SOLDIERs that were better than the rest. Then he got an idea. "Zack, I want you to find Lightning and Cloud Strife. Bring them back here and we will arrange a deal with them."

"As you wish, my lord," Zack bowed before striding out of the room. Rufus sat back in his throne. He knew that Cloud and Lightning would never help him out. And it was times like this that he wished the Sephiroth was still in SOLDIER. But he went missing after he went on a mission to Nibelheim.

Rufus turned to the guard next to him. "Inform Tseng that I wish for his assistance," Rufus said and the guard bowed.

"Yes, my Lord," he said, his voice echoing because of the armor he had on. He left the room quickly.

Tseng came in a little while later. He was wearing a black tunic and matching pants with white pin strip down the sides. Attached to his hip was a crossbow. Regular clothing for the Turks.

"You need something, my Lord?" Tseng asked.

"Yes, I'm aware the Lightning and Cloud Strife have a little sister," Rufus started.

"Yes sir, her name is Serah, I believe," Tseng answered

"I want you to find her…and capture her."

"Yes, my Lord."

* * *

_Well, that's the first chapter of this long ride. I'm going to add more FF characters through out this whole story so don't be stunned if you see them :D Review, please!_


End file.
